David Backes, center for the Boston Bruins, and his wife, Kelly, alerted The Gentle Barn about the six cows who recently escaped from a slaughterhouse in St. Louis, MO, and have supported The Gentle Barn’s campaign from the start.

Now joining them is Alex Pietrangelo, team captain and defenseman for The St. Louis Blues, with a signed hockey stick. Dodgers’ pitchers Clayton Kershaw, Brandon McCarthy, Chris Hatcher, and Rich Hill, who serendipitously will be playing the St. Louis Cardinals over the next week, came out to The Gentle Barn and signed baseballs to support the campaign.

“With this star-studded campaign, and the support of our Gentle Barn fans, I know we’ll succeed in creating a Gentle Barn in St. Louis,” says Ellie Laks, Founder of The Gentle Barn Foundation, “We will rescue many more animals in the future who will serve the community as part of our programs for inner city, at-risk, and special needs children. We are so excited and cannot wait!”

“We still have a lot of work to do,” says Backes, “All those involved would love your support.”

The Gentle Barn is a national nonprofit organization, founded in 1999 as a safe haven and place of recovery for severely abused animals. The Gentle Barn offers their unique philosophy of rehabilitating animals and connecting their stories of survival and healing to the personal experiences of inner city, at-risk and special needs children who have suffered physical, mental or emotional trauma. By interacting with The Gentle Barn’s approximate one hundred and fifty animals and taking a hands-on role in their welfare, those who participate in the programs at The Gentle Barn learn empathy, trust and forgiveness. The Gentle Barn is supported by many celebrities, including Ellen Degeneres, Portia de Rossi, Daisy Fuentes, Richard Marx, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Channing Tatum, Steve-O, Rikki Rockett, Pamela Anderson and Hilary Swank.

PBS’s multi award-winning NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT returns live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol for a special 30th anniversary broadcast hosted by Tony Award-winner Joe Mantegna and Tony-nominated actress and star of TV’s FALLING WATER, THE WEST WING and THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT, Mary McCormack.
More →